Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 25
Īśvara-gītā: Antaryāmin, Kāla, and the Divine Ordinance Governing Creation, Preservation, and Pralaya
यः सर्वरक्षसां नाथस्तामसानां फलप्रदः / मन्नियोगादसौ देवो वर्तते निरृतिः सदा
yaḥ sarvarakṣasāṃ nāthastāmasānāṃ phalapradaḥ / manniyogādasau devo vartate nirṛtiḥ sadā
He who is the lord of all the Rākṣasas and the dispenser of results to those governed by tamas—by My appointment that very deity ever functions as Nirṛti.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing/expounding cosmic administration (niyoga) to the sages/Indradyumna-context interlocutors
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
It implies a supreme governing intelligence behind cosmic roles: even forces associated with darkness and dissolution (Nirṛti, rākṣasas, tamas) function under divine appointment, indicating an overarching Lord who regulates results (phala) and order.
No specific technique is taught directly; the verse supports a yogic worldview of guṇa-dynamics and karma-phala. In practice, it encourages sāttvika discipline—reducing tamas through niyama, clarity, and devotion—so one is not drawn into tamasic outcomes governed by such powers.
By presenting divine governance as a unified cosmic order, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology: various deities and powers (often shared across Shaiva-Vaishnava frameworks) operate by the same supreme ordinance, emphasizing functional unity rather than sectarian separation.